SPARK Forum

Create seems to turn itself off when docked rather than stay on in “Passive” mode

2009-12-29T18:24:54-05:00

I’ve noticed that if I leave my Create docked for a long period of time, it seems to turn itself OFF (at least it stops responding to sensor commands). And, the only way I can get it to turn back on is to shove it off of the docking station and then press the power button twice at which point it plays a single beep and begins to respond normally.

Has anyone else seen this behavior? This is very frustrating because I want my robot to be able to autonomously begin functioning without having to manually turn it on.

Thanks!

Forum Topics

2009-08-27T13:57:27-05:00

Welcome to the SPARK Forum on Robotics at the Middle School Level! This forum is intended for comments and questions on robotics education with a focus on middle school students. Feel free to post questions, links to teaching materials, and comments on your experiences working with robots and middle school students. Perspectives on both in-school and out-of-school learning are welcome.

iRobot WebQuest

2009-12-01T14:41:13-05:00

SPARK is pleased to release this WebQuest to help introduce fourth through sixth graders to robotics:

http://spark.irobot.com/index.php/educational_resources/story_detail/sp4rl/v/materials_irobot_webquest

Feel free to comment here on these materials, make suggestions, or describe how you have adapted them to work with your own students.

Forum Topics

2009-08-27T14:32:46-05:00

Welcome to the SPARK Forum on Other Robotics Platforms! This forum is intended for discussion on robotics platforms and programming environments for both in-school and out-of-school learning.

Books on robotics

2009-08-28T11:22:42-05:00

If you are looking for books on robots, this site has a very comprehensive collection:
http://www.robotbooks.com

They have books on robot building, both beginning and advanced, as well as books for kids.

programmable

2009-12-06T04:20:24-05:00

what are some examples of robotic toys for children that involve some real programming? i.e. do programming on computer, upload software into toy, and observe behavior of robot? would be great toy for christmas, educaitonal and fun.

Forum Topics

2009-08-27T14:40:03-05:00

Welcome to the SPARK Feedback Forum! If you have comments or questions about the SPARK website, or features you would like to see, please post them here.

BEST Robotics

2009-11-17T08:14:46-05:00

A group in the southcoast has begun work in establishing a local chapter of a non-profit organization to establish a new robotics competition for Jr. High and High School students called BEST Robotics. The Boosting Engineering Science and Technology (BEST) Robotics competition provides students a look at engineering careers, the engineering design process, practical use of math and applied physics, group collaboration, program management and design-to-market product development. If anyone is interested in suggesting ideas, volunteering, or sponsoring the hub additional information can be provided.
The group has both short range and long range plans for this effort. With the short term being fairly straight forward but the long range requiring significant buy in from local and state education and legislation.

Short range plan
- Establish a Robotics Competition for Jr High and High School Students run by the new local hub and hosted at UMASS Dartmouth.
- This is a new opportunity for the New England area with huge growth potential – with very minimal costs to the participating schools.
- The BEST website: http://best.eng.auburn.edu/

Long range plan
- Partner with the University on multiple fronts – establishing a K-16 pipeline
- Partner the Hub with the UMASS infrastructure
- Start with Dartmouth – expand to all 4 major campuses
- Establish and evaluate a robotics curriculum to integrate into Jr High and High schools classrooms
- Aligns classroom and vocational shops with common theme

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

SPARK Exclusive: Robot Activity Booklets

2009-12-11T06:05:47-05:00

Great news for SPARK members:

You have immediate access to the downloadable robot activity booklets developed exclusively for SPARK!

Download your robot activity booklets now!
http://spark.irobot.com/index.php/exclusive_downloads

The SPARK website features three new robot activity booklets designed for elementary, middle and high school students. Each booklet is packed with age-appropriate games, puzzles helpful resources and more!

Feel free to download, print and share these materials with the kids in your life who are excited about robotics.
http://spark.irobot.com/index.php/exclusive_downloads

Enjoy the robot activity books!

—Kristen and the SPARK Team

Robotics news sites

2009-08-28T11:19:41-05:00

Here are a couple of sites which are great places to go for news about robotics and cool videos of robots:

http://www.iirobotics.com/
http://robots.net/